FA Youth Cup third round: West Bromwich Albion 4 Leyton Orient 0

The step up in class proved too big for Leyton Orient in the third round of the FA Youth Cup last night with West Bromwich Albion earning a 4-0 victory at the Hawthorns.

Danny Webb’s young O’s went into the contest full of confidence having lost just one of their previous nine matches in all competitions.

West Brom, on the other hand, were without a win in eight games, but the Premier League opposition were too strong for Orient.

The Baggies took the lead after just two minutes when Nick Clayton-Phillips drilled in from close range.

It was always going to be an uphill battle from that point onwards and O’s task got even more difficult when Clayton-Phillips completed his brace in the 25th minute.

Ruel Sotiriou provided two bright moments before the break with one run nearly setting Charles Clayden up for a chance.

The duo linked up again soon after and this time Jaedon Phillips tried his luck, but his effort was blocked.

Following a fairly strong end to the first 45, Orient were looking to kick on after the restart, but they made a poor start again.

Again it took West Brom just two minutes for them to show their class with Finn Azaz picking out Rayhaan Tulloch and he poked past Arthur Janata in the away goal.

Orient’s young goalkeeper, who has played on loan for Bostik North club Romford this season, was then called into action on a couple of occasions to prevent the score going to 4-0.

The O’s did nearly pull one back in the 71st minute though, when Toby Stevenson, currently on loan at Heybridge Swifts, found Sotiriou at the back post and he headed towards goal, but Baggies captain Sam Wilding got back to clear.

It was the closest Orient would go to finding the net with West Brom concluding the scoring four minutes from time when Tulloch added a second.

The quality of the Premier League outfit paid dividends in the end, but O’s could be proud of their efforts after matching last season’s run in the FA Youth Cup.

With a number of Webb’s squad still first-year scholars, they’ll hope to build on this experience in 2018.

Orient’s under-18s return to Youth Alliance South East Division matters on Saturday with game at home to Peterborough United.

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